8/31/12

The Republican ticket is flooding the airwaves with commercials that develop two themes designed to turn the presidential contest into a racially freighted resource competition pitting middle class white voters against the minority poor.

Ads that accuse President Obama of gutting the work requirements enacted in the 1996 welfare reform legislation present the first theme. Ads alleging that Obama has taken $716 billion from Medicare — a program serving an overwhelmingly white constituency — in order to provide health coverage to the heavily black and Hispanic poor deliver the second. The ads are meant to work together, to mutually reinforce each other’s claims.

The announcer in one of the Romney campaign’s TV ads focusing on welfare tells viewers:

In 1996, President Clinton and a bipartisan Congress helped end welfare as we know it by requiring work for welfare. But on July 12, President Obama quietly announced a plan to gut welfare reform by dropping the work requirement. Under Obama’s plan, you wouldn’t have to work and wouldn’t have to train for a job. They just send you a welfare check. And welfare-to-work goes back to being plain old welfare. Mitt Romney will restore the work requirement because it works.

The ad includes the following text and photograph:

Mitt Romney for President

Web sites devoted to examining the veracity of political commercials have sharply criticized the ad.

The Washington Post’s fact checker, Glenn Kessler, gave the welfare ads his lowest rating, four Pinocchios. The Tampa Bay Times’s Politifact was equally harsh, describing the ads as “a drastic distortion” warranting a “pants on fire” rating. The welfare commercial, according to Politifact, “inflames old resentments about able-bodied adults sitting around collecting public assistance.”

Sharp criticism has done nothing to hold back the Romney campaign from continuing its offensive — in speeches and on the air — because the accuracy of the ads is irrelevant as far as the Republican presidential ticket is concerned. The goal is not to make a legitimate critique, but to portray Obama as willing to give the “undeserving” poor government handouts at the expense of hardworking taxpayers.

Insofar as Romney can revive anti-welfare sentiments – which have been relatively quiescent since the enactment of the 1996 reforms – he may be able to increase voter motivation among whites whose enthusiasm for Romney has been dimmed by the barrage of Obama ads criticizing Bain Capital for firing workers and outsourcing jobs during Romney’s tenure as C.E.O. of the company.

The racial overtones of Romney’s welfare ads are relatively explicit. Romney’s Medicare ads are a bit more subtle.

“You paid into Medicare for years — every paycheck. Now when you need it, Obama has cut $716 billion from Medicare,” the ad begins, with following picture on the screen:

Mitt Romney for President

Why? To pay for Obamacare. The money you paid for your guaranteed health care is going to a massive new government program that is not for you.

In essence, the ad is telling senior voters that the money they paid to insure their own access to Medicare after they turn 65 is going, instead, to pay for free health care for poor people who are younger than 65.

The Romney Medicare ads have a dual purpose. The first is to deflect the Obama campaign’s attack on the Romney-Ryan proposal to radically transform the way medical care for those over 65 is provided. The Associated Press succinctly described the Romney-Ryan proposal:

Starting in 2023, new retirees on the younger side of the line [those younger than 55 in 2012] would get a fixed amount of money from the government to pick either private health insurance or a federal plan modeled on Medicare.

Those going on Medicare after 2022 would have to choose between “premium support” — in other words, a voucher program — to pay for private health care coverage or an option to enroll in a program similar to existing Medicare but without specified funding levels — which means an end to the guaranteed medical coverage currently provided for those over 65.

The liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities sums up the likely future of health care for seniors under the Ryan proposal for reform:

The C.B.O. estimates that by 2030 the House Budget Committee plan would increase the out-of-pocket share of health care spending for a typical Medicare beneficiary from the current 25-to-30% range to 68%. By 2050, the House plan would cut federal health care spending by approximately two thirds. Both plans would place substantial administrative burdens on the most vulnerable and infirm of Medicare’s enrollees. And both would surrender the considerable leverage that Medicare can bring to bear on providers to reduce spending and improve quality.

Polls in key swing states and nationally show that, at present, voters trust Obama more than Romney to deal with Medicare, and strongly prefer to leave the Medicare program as is.

Asked whether “Medicare should continue as it is today” or “should be changed to a system in which the government would provide seniors with a fixed amount of money toward purchasing private health insurance or Medicare insurance” voters in Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin decisively chose to keep Medicare unchanged – by 62-28 in Florida, by 64-27 in Ohio, and by 59-32 in Wisconsin.

When asked whom they trust more to handle the Medicare issue, Florida voters in a Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS News poll, reported on August 23, picked Obama over Romney by a 50-42 margin. In Ohio, Obama’s margin was 51-41; in Wisconsin, it was 51-42.

A separate Pew Research Center survey released on August 21 found that 72 percent of voters had heard “a little” or “a lot” about what Pew described as “a proposal to change Medicare into a program that would give future participants a credit toward purchasing private health insurance coverage.” Of those familiar with the proposal, a plurality, 49 percent, opposed it, while 34 percent favored it.

The bipartisan Battleground Poll conducted August 5-9 by the Tarrance Group, a Republican firm, and Lake Research Partners, a Democratic firm, found that voters trusted Obama over Romney to handle Medicare and Social Security by a 49-45 margin. The same survey found that voters trusted Congressional Democrats over Congressional Republicans to handle Medicare and Social Security by a 48-40 margin.

Romney’s Medicare ad is designed to undermine that relatively modest but potentially crucial advantage. It is artfully constructed to turn the issue of health care into a battle over limited tax dollars between a largely white population of seniors on Medicare and a disproportionately minority population of the currently uninsured who would get health coverage under Obamacare.

Medicare recipients are overwhelmingly white, at 77 percent; 10 percent of recipients are black; and 8 percent Hispanic, with the rest described as coming from other races and ethnicities.

Obamacare, described in the Romney ad as a “massive new government program that is not for you,” would provide health coverage to a population of over 30 million that is not currently insured: 16.3 percent of this population is black; 30.7 percent is Hispanic; 5.2 percent is Asian-American; and 46.3 percent (less than half) is made up of non-Hispanic whites.

Politifact described the Medicare ad as “half true”:

Romney’s claim gives the impression that the law takes money that was already allocated to Medicare and funds the new health care law with it. In fact, the law uses a number of measures to try to reduce the rapid growth of future Medicare spending. Those savings are then used to offset costs created by the law — especially coverage for the uninsured — so that the overall law doesn’t add to the deficit. We rate his statement Half True.

Politifact also rated a claim Romney made later on the stump — that “there’s only one president that I know of in history that robbed Medicare, $716 billion to pay for a new risky program of his own that we call Obamacare” — as “mostly false.”

The Romney campaign’s shift of focus toward welfare and Medicare suggests that his strategists are worried that just disparaging Obama’s ability to deal with the struggling economy won’t be adequate to produce victory on November 6.

The importance to the Romney-Ryan ticket of two overlapping constituencies — whites without college degrees and white Medicare recipients — cannot be overestimated. Romney, continuing the Republican approach of 2010, is banking on a huge turnout among key white segments of the electorate in order to counter Obama’s strengths with minority voters as well as with young and unmarried female voters of all races.

There is extensive poll data showing the depth of Republican dependence on white voters.

On August 23, Pew Research released its latest findings on partisan identification, and the gains that the Republican Party has made among older and non-college whites since 2004 are remarkable.

Just eight years ago, Pew reports, whites 65 and over were evenly split in their allegiance, 46 percent Democratic, 46 percent Republican. In the most recent findings, these voters are now solidly in the Republican camp, 54-38, an eight point Republican gain. Elderly women were 9 points more Democratic than Republican in 2004, 50-41, the opposite of where they are now, 51-42 Republican. Older men, who were 51-41 Republican in 2004, are now 59-33 Republican.

Similarly, white voters without college degrees, of all ages, have gone from 51-40 Republican in 2004, to 54-37 in 2012, according to Pew.

Most importantly, the Pew surveys show that 89% of voters who identify themselves as Republican are white. Faced with few if any possibilities of making gains among blacks and Hispanics — whose support for Obama has remained strong — the Romney campaign has no other choice if the goal is to win but to adopt a strategy to drive up white turnout.

The Romney campaign is willing to disregard criticism concerning accuracy and veracity in favor of “blowing the dog whistle of racism” – resorting to a campaign appealing to racial symbols, images and issues in its bid to break the frustratingly persistent Obama lead in the polls, which has lasted for the past 10 months.

The result is a campaign run at two levels. On the trail, Paul Ryan argues that “we’re going to make this about ideas. We’re going to make this about a positive vision for the future.” On television and the Internet, however, the Romney campaign is clearly determined “to make this about” race, in the tradition of the notorious 1988 Republican Willie Horton ad, which described the rape of a white woman by a convicted African-American murderer released on furlough from a Massachusetts prison during the gubernatorial administration of Michael Dukakis and Jesse Helms’s equally infamous “White Hands” commercial, which depicted a white job applicant who “needed that job” but was rejected because “they had to give it to a minority.”

The longer campaigns go on, the nastier they get. Once unthinkable methods become conventional.

“You can tell they” — the welfare ads— “are landing punches,” Steven Law, president of the Republican super PAC American Crossroads, told the Wall Street Journal. Law’s focus group and polling research suggest that the theme is not necessarily going to work. “The economy is so lousy for middle-income Americans that the same people who chafe at the rise of welfare dependency under Obama don’t automatically default to a ‘get-a-job’ attitude — because they know there are no jobs.”

As the head of a tax-exempt 501(c)4 independent expenditure committee, Law cannot coordinate campaign strategy directly with the Romney campaign. Nonetheless, he is sending a warning. The welfare theme, Law said, “needs to be done sensitively. Right now it may be more of an economic issue than a values issue: In other words, more people on welfare is another disturbing symptom of Obama’s broken-down economy, rather than an indictment of those who are on welfare or the culture as a whole.”

Will the Romney campaign heed Law’s advice to keep it subtle? The principal media consultant for the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future, which will be running many of the anti-Obama ads over the next ten weeks, is Larry McCarthy, who produced the original Willie Horton ad.

You know The more conservatives attack people who are different -- women, gays, other races, other cultures, other religions -- the harder liberals fight for safety nets and economic justice run by the federal government.

The more conservatives reveal their lingering and deep-seated racism and intolerance, the more certain we are that some states still discriminate against people for being the wrong sex, the wrong color, the wrong faith, the wrong culture, etc etc. We are reminded they still judge people by superficial characteristics like the color of their skin, not by the content of their character.

If we knew we could trust local communities to treat good people fairly and equally we could consider more local governance. But as long as conservatives are driven by strong local prejudice, their howling to get government out of the way sounds like throwing the most vulnerable to the wolves.

It didn’t take long for negative press to surface after Gabby Douglas’ interview with Oprah Winfrey aired. During her ‘Next Own’ interview, Gabby suggested that while training at Excalibur Gymnastics (her former gym) in Virginia Beach, she experienced racism. Specifically, Gabby said that a teammate demanded her to do something because she was their ‘slave’. Gabby told Oprah:

‘I definitely felt isolated. I felt, ‘Why do I deserve this? Is it because I’m black?’

One of Gabby’s former team members, Randy Stageburg spoke with GymNewstics.com, denying Gabby’s experience.

‘This is absolutely ridiculous, Gabby was never a victim, in fact many would say she was one of the favorites. I am not saying that she never felt bullied because when you are in a sport with a bunch of girls it is bound to happen. However, anything that she may have felt was never about race and I can assure you everyone at some point has felt bullied. I watched Dena open her home to Gabby, feeding her, taking her to gym, and allowing her to stay over her house whenever Gabby wanted to…”

Even the CEO (Gustavo Moure) expressed his resentment towards what Gabby told Oprah and the rest of the world. He explained:

I wish to defend the children that trained with her and supported her when she attacks them with these allegations. Is Gabrielle a credible person just because she is an Olympic champion? She is not giving any names or dates, leading us to believe that the accusation is fake. Gabby’s remarks were hurtful and without merit. We’ve had more African-Americans in elite and on the national team than any other gym in the country.

What are your thoughts on their comments, disputing Gabby’s experience? Could Gabby have innocently exaggerated her experience or do you believe her claims that she was treated unfairly? I personally believe her!

Actor and queen Evan Ross (son of legendary Diana Ross and sibling of Tracy Ellis Ross) celebrated his birthday like a rockstar, with a Ciroc and Hennessey sponsored rooftop bash. Peep the pix.

The party took place at the Pheed.com House On Mulholland. We spotted his girlfriend Cora Skinner, along with Evan’s Sisters Tracy and Chudney Ross, and other A-listers like Brittany Snow, Olympic Volleyball Silver Medalist Destinee Hooker, Too Short, Empire Girls’ Julissa Bermudez and DJ EQue, Diddy’s son Quincy, and other fancy folk.

Former reality tv star Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander has confirmed her split from former NBA baller Shaquille O'Neal. So what caused the split? Sources say a very public fight at the Orlando Metro Gymnastics facility was the final straw.

BlackSportsOnline reports an eyewitness saying,

“The gym doesn’t teach people over the age of 18 for insurance purposes and when Hoopz was told this she lost her mind. She started to curse out the staff and became belligerent. She got extremely loud, screaming at the top of her lungs how she needed to train for the 2016 Olympics.

Shaq was embarrassed, he dropped his head like he was ashamed of her. He didn’t say anything while they were in the gym, but once they got to their car a heated argument took place. You could hear and see them screaming at each other. I felt bad for him.”

I always wonder what people expect from serial reality show hot heads and thirstmongers. And the Olympics? Oh. Although the breakup didn't happen THAT day, Hoopz's tantrum must have left a bad taste is Shaq's mouth because they aren't together anymore....

Beyoncé’s Mother Tina Knowles Sells $3 Million Houston Mansion

Beyonce’s mom, Tina Knowles finally sells her Houston area mansion after accepting an offer of $2,962,500. Knowles property was on the market for nine months with a price tag of $3.499 million. TMZ reports Mrs Knowles’ home was on the market for nine months with no potential buyers before the 8,885-square-foot home was purchased this summer. The Houston residence, which sits on 2.6 acres, boasts five bedrooms, five bathrooms a pool, gym and media room. The sale comes months after Tina Knowles divorced her husband, Beyoncé’s father Mathew Knowles, after 31 years of marriage.

The couple was issued a final decree of divorce in a Texas court last November – two years after she filed legal papers. Their original divorce filing was dropped in 2010 after both failed to appear in court, leading Tina to file a divorce petition once again.

Another Woman, Another alleged affair for David Beckham!

Their 13-year marriage is largely considered to be one of the most rock solid of the showbiz world.

But last week, Victoria and David Beckham were rocked by sensational internet rumours claiming he'd had an affair with Katherine Jenkins, and they were just days away from calling time on their union.

Although both the 32-year-old opera singer and the Beckhams have denied the accusations, Victoria is said to be 'bemused' by the hurtful rumours.

'Horrible rumours': Katherine took to Twitter to explain she has only ever met David twice in her life

A source said 'She is bemused by the whole thing.'

Despite the hurt the claims have caused, the 38-year-old fashion designer 'understands' that Katherine would want to clear her name.

The source added: 'Victoria understands why Katherine would want to defend herself against these allegations.'

'I did NOT have an affair with David Beckham': Katherine Jenkins blasts 'untrue and hurtful' rumours that few had heard of

'We were out in a group of friends & it was just a normal fun evening out. Just so we are clear I have never been on my own with him and never arranged to meet up.'

'Untrue and hurtful': Katherine took to her Twitter page last week to deny the rumours

This isn't the first time the Beckhams have been rocked by rumours of an affair on David's part.

Most notably, in 2004 they dismissed claims the 37-year-old sportsman had been involved in a four-month romance with his former PA Rebecca Loos as 'ludicrous'.

David said shortly after: 'I do not flirt with other women. I exist only for Victoria.'

'I've only met him twice': Katherine and David have only met at the 2010 Military Awards and on a night out with friends in February 2012

But the rumours seemed to have taken their toll on the Spice Girls singer.

She later said: 'I'm not going to lie, it was a really tough time. David and I got through it together.

'No one said marriage was going to be easy. Yes, there have been bumps along the road.

'But the fact is we've come out of everything we've been through stronger and happier.'

Katherine has been single since splitting from her TV presenter fiance, Gethin Jones, in December 2011.

Meanwhile, Victoria and David have been married for 13 years.

They are worth an estimated $125million as a power couple.

New Music: Avant & Keke Wyatt — “You And I”

Avant and KeKe Wyatt have teamed up again for a hot new R&B track titled, You And I. The first single written by Avant is off his forthcoming album, Face The Music, due early next year. The ballad was recorded while cameras rolled during the October 1st episode of Keke’s new reality series R&B Divas on TV One. The two talented R&B singers seem to have the ability to perfectly blend and mesh their strengths and highlight each others features within the song. Go ahead and take a listen for yourself

Listen:

Well?

Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson and his MULTITUDE of Women!

Chad ‘Ochocinco‘ Johnson is a well traveled man. Turns out Evelyn Lozada wasn’t the only one in his life, and he may have had other females in Atlanta, Boston and Miami.

A source told Radar Online that one of the mistresses included a stripper named Amber Priddy. “Chad has been paying Amber $2000 a month for her apartment and flying her in and out of Miami so they could meet up,” a source said. Court documents also state that Amber tweeted a message to Evelyn shortly after her and Chad got married saying, “U can marry him today, he still mine!!! #thatsmyhoe2.” Shortly after she went back to the social network and tweeted, “I AM NOT chad Johnson’s mistress. Lol this sh*t is hilarious we are just friends!!!!”

Amber Priddy – Chad’s alleged mistress

Beverly Shine, says she and Chad were close up until May 2012, and Bianca Zuluaga met Chad via Twitter. According to EurWeb, “Chad would mostly spend time with Bianca while Evelyn was out of town on her book tour or filming,” the source explained. “They would even meet at David’s Café in Miami, which is one of his regular hangout joints and they didn’t go to any lengths to hide the fact that they were there together.”

Rosie O’Donnell has tied the knot. People magazine reports that the 50-year-old O’Donnell tied the knot with fiancee Michelle Rounds in a private June 9 ceremony. The wedding was originally planned for this month but the couple had pushed it forward due to 41-year-old Michelle’s rare illness. Rosie, who underwent minor surgery this month after suffering a heart attack, made the announcement on her blog saying: “We married in private before [Michelle’s] surgery just the 2 of us.

O’Donnell also announced the news on her official blog, writing:

we were to wed 10 days ago but her illness forced us to postpone the wedding luckily — as i was in ICU that day

when it rains…

things grow

like love and flowers

humans too

so on we go

we married in private

before her surgery

just the 2 of us

Congratulations to the couple!

Tameka Raymond Forced to Move?

Back in May rumors swirled that Usher was trying to force his ex-wife Tameka Raymond out of the house she shared with her and Usher's two sons and her sons from a previous marriage

Now that the custody ruling is over Usher is moving forward with his plans to sell the house...

From that MOOSE Sandra Rose

My source [tells me] Foster-Raymond will have to give buyers access to see her Roswell mansion — which Usher has been trying to sell for months now. He also said Foster-Raymond will have to move out of the house soon.

“RHOA” star Kandi Burruss celebrated the 10th birthday of her daughter Riley with a Nicki Minaj-themed birthday party which featured lots of pink wigs and a Nicki impersonator. And thanks to Talking With Tami, we've got some pics

Riley’s wig was custom made by Nicki’s hairstylist Terrence Davidson. We can tell.

The party was planned by fellow “RHOA” castmate Phaedra Parks who had some fun with the Nicki lookalike.

Momma Kandi also got dressed up!

Fun Times and Happy Birthday!

NeNe Leakes has a New Shoe Line!

NeNe Leakes recently hosted a launch party for her new “Nethia” shoe which she’s doing with Kim Kardashian’s styling service, Shoe Dazzle. Kim didn’t make it to the launch but she did tweet….

NeNe’s bestie Cynthia Bailey was there to offer support.

Kandi Burruss attended the launch.

WNBA Atlanta Dream player Yelena Leuchanka also came out.

The shoe costs $39.99 and proceeds go to a charity benefiting teen girls.

Many celebs like Kim K. and LaLa Anthony have lent their name to the company for them to sell a shoe under their name for charity.

We guess Kim's Operations Manual has been passed down the line to NeNe....

WERK!

Lil’ Kim Vh1 “Behind the Music” Documentary Coming Soon

Where are all my die-hard Lil’ Kim Fans? If you have been wanting to find out more about Lil’ Kims’ life the wait no longer. Rumors are floating around that Kim has been chosen to be the center of attention in a VH1 documentary.

Recently we learned through twitter that an episode of “Behind the Music” featuring Lil Kim is in the works Kimmie’s publicist CJ confirmed the rumor while correcting information put out by Yodonbleekraps. Are you guys ready for this documentary?

Word on the street…Is…. Beyonce To Perform At ‘Made In America Music Festival

Made in America Festival festival just got doper (which really ain’t a word). According to The Huffington Post, an insider confirmed that Beyonce will join her husband Jay-Z on stage at the Made in America Festival Labor Day Weekend, in Philly. The insider claims:

“Beyonce will hit the stage in a surprise performance at her hubby’s festival next weekend in [Pennsylvania]. The performance is top secret but it will be filmed for Jay’s documentary about the event. It’s going to be epic.”

An estimated 100,000 fans will be in attendance to watch legends like Run DMC, Drake and Philly’s own Jill Scott hit the stage. Those numbers are expected to spike once fans learn their favorite Hollywood couple will be performing together. Only time will tell if Beyonce will hit the stage. Visit www.madeinamericafest.com for more info.

Diddy showers Cassie with gifts for her Birthday!

Diddy and Cassie are definitely no longer hiding their relationship and Diddy went all out for Cassie's 26th birthday...

A quick trip around Diddy and Cassie's instagram pages reveal Diddy flew a gang of Cassie's pals, including Basketball Wives Draya, via private jet into Las Vegas and showered Cassie with cash and jewelry for her birthday.

No album at least she got money to take a pic with…right?

AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES

‘Wally World Wedding’

Wow your wedding cake must be delicious, I see people lined up for it. Can I get the name of your caterer? Oh the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, excellent.